Çanakkale

Seaport and capital of Çanakkale province, northwest Turkey, on the Asiatic shore of the Dardanelles, 256 km/160 mi southwest of Istanbul; population (1990) 54,000. It is a commercial and administrative centre, and a tourist hub for Troy and the military memorials of the Gallipoli campaign of World War I. A strong naval presence is still maintained in the port, which is strategically placed to control access through the strait.

Features The Çimenlik Fortress, built in the mid-15th century by the Ottoman sultan Mehemet the Conqueror, was constructed to tighten his stranglehold on Constantinople (now Istanbul). The castle played a major part in the defense of the strait during the Dardanelles campaign of World War I, and is now an Army and Navy Museum.

History In 480 BC the Persian king Xerxes constructed a bridge of boats nearby at Abydos, in order to move 100,000 troops across the Dardanelles for his intended conquest of Europe.